Modern couples are falling in love in just half the time as their parents` generation, with it now taking just 224 tweets and 163 text messages to woo partners, new research suggests.

现代情侣坠入爱河的时间，比他们的父辈缩短了一半。根据新研究发现，只要发224条推特和163条短信，现代人就能发展成情侣。

Twitter is now the most common way to secure a new partner and the "three day rule" for calling a date back has been abandoned for a few hours.

推特现在已经成了勾搭新伴侣最普通的方式，从前的“三天法则”——即在跟对方约会后至少过三天再联系对方——也已经被抛弃，现在已经缩短到了几小时。

A study found modern technology is speeding things up for couples who now rely on social media and texting to secure a relationship, rather than old fashioned methods of their parents` generation which took twice as long.

这项研究发现，对那些依靠社交媒体和发短信的方式发展关系的情侣来说，现代科技让一切加速。而他们的父辈的方式更老套，花的时间也要多一倍。

Couples aged 55 and over said on average their courting process took more than two and a half months (78 days) whereas for those under the age of 25 it takes just under one month (24 days) for them to refer to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend, according to the study by PIXmania.

根据PIXmania的这项研究，55岁及以上的情侣表示，他们的求偶过程一般需要花两个半月的时间(78天)，而那些年纪在25岁以下的年轻人则可以在一个月内(24天)就确定关系，称呼对方为男女朋友。

Instead of obeying the "three day rule" to contact a date, the research revealed 68 per cent of people said they were now happy to communicate with their new love interest within four hours of a first date.

研究还发现，68%的人已经放弃了联系约会对象的“三天法则”，现在的人们很乐意在第一次约会后的四个小时内联系他们的新恋爱对象。

It also found it now takes couples an average of 224 tweets, 163 text messages, 70 Facebook messages, 37 emails and 30 phone calls to fall head over heels in love.

研究还发现，现在的情侣平均只需要224条推特、163条短消息、70个脸书消息、37封邮件和30个电话，就能陷入热恋中。

Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of PIXmania.com, said: "With the nation obsessed with constantly communicating with one another, modern technology is putting the speed into speed dating and encouraging more contact between budding lovers.

PIXmania网站的市场总监Ghadi Hobeika 表示：“我们国家(指英国)的国民间联系频繁，现代科技已经加速了约会流程，鼓励刚刚发展的恋人们多联系。

"The days of penning a simple love letter to woo your new beau are over."

“为了追求新的对象，给她/他手写一份简单的情书，这样的时代已经过去了。”

Men are more prolific on social networks, sending an average of 517 Facebook messages and tweets a year in an attempt to woo potential lovers compared to just 386 for women, according to the research.

根据研究表示，男性在社交网络上表现得更活跃，每年平均会发571个脸书消息和推特来追求潜在的对象，女性则只有386个。

Less than one in ten of the nation`s couples still write old-fashioned love letters to each other.

在英国，只有不到1%的情侣还会给自己的爱人手写似乎有些过时的情书。

But it is not all good news, as technology was also found to play a role in the breakup of 21st century relationships.

不过也并不都是好消息，研究也发现，在21世纪的感情关系中，科技在恋人分手时也扮演者重要的角色。

Around 36 per cent of people break off a relationship with a call, while 27 per cent of those questioned admitted ending a relationship by text and one in eight (13 per cent) revealed they had called things off using social media.

大约36%的现代人会通过打电话分手，27%接受调查的人承认会发短信分手，8个人中就有1人(约为13%)表示他们会使用社交媒体来结束一段感情。